Extent of injuries unknown.
A surfer in his twenties has been hit by a “fifteen-foot” Great White shark at Bunker Bay, an awesomely pretty crescent of white sand and green water almost at the tip of Cape Naturaliste, a little north of Margaret River.
Phil Mummert, twenty-eight, was surfing The Farm, a wave protected from today’s south-west onshore. He was bitten on the right thigh, helped by a longboarder to the beach and stabilised at a nearby house before being choppered to Bunbury hospital.
A local surfer on the scene said, “the White came out the water and inhaled the board pretty much. The guy managed to roll out of the way and then a longboarder got him to the beach.”
Mummert’s girl, Mish Wright, posted an update, with photos, on Facebook.
“Just want to let everyone know that Phil is doing okay! He was bitten by a shark at Bunker Bay this afternoon and got a few chunks taken out of his leg. I honestly don’t know how a person can see a total stranger getting attacked by a 4m great white shark and swim towards to save him so we are beyond grateful to everyone that helped save Phil’s life. So lucky that Phil got away with his life and limbs and beyond lucky that we live in such a kind and caring community. So thankful for everyone who carried him to shore and for the ones that held his leg together for half an hour while waiting for the ambulance. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts — thank you, thank you, thank you. We’ve been flown to the hospital and just waiting for him to get stitched up. Phil’s doing great and singing [baby] shark do do do do do do.”
Nine years ago, bodyboarder Kyle Burden, twenty-one, was bitten in half at a nearby beach called Boneyards by a Great White witnesses say was six metres long or twenty feet.
Both waves, Bonyards and The Farm, are right there on Cape Naturaliste, a fist of geography that juts out on the western edge of Geographe Bay, home to a thriving New Zealand fur seal colony.
Plenty of White around the Cape?
Yeah, there is.
Plenty of ’em circling the rest of Australia, too.
Today’s attack is the third hit on surfers by Great Whites in two months.
Three weeks ago, fifteen-year-old Mani Hart-Deville was killed by a White at Wilsons Headland, just north of Coffs Harbour; the previous month saw sixty-year-old surfer Rob Pedretti killed by a White near the Surfing Australia High Performance Camp at Casuarina, just south of the Gold Coast.
Two weeks ago, a ten-year-old by was snatched off the deck of his daddy’s fishing boat by a twelve-foot White on Tasmania’s north-west coast.
More on the latest hit as it comes.
(And read about the ethics of executing Great Whites, here.)
Tis the rime of year for it. Whales, Salmon and Seals on the point. Young bloke is very lucky and the people that went to help him and then look after him give me faith in our surfing community, bloody legends. Be great to do an article with him and fanning. Make his day
Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, time to revise it.
That J.S is actually a hipster asymmetrical design
I was out surfing carparks when I heard about this less than an hour after it happened. a guy who saw the attack then decided to jump in his car and come surf injis. ha. people are so used to it happening down here.
Or throw a few drumlines out on the other side of the Cape.
It’s cool, his GF is chinese
So many things trying to eat you or fill you with venom in australia. western austrlaia is terryfying, pretty but you can just feel how deadly it is when you look at those empty beaches and wineries, brave crew of dudes running their deal out there.
fuck that’s heavy
Is it just me or is it completely inappropriate to throw a shaka while lying in a hospital bed after being attacked by a great white?
Hang loose leg, hang loose.
Nah the wolf tattoo on his arm counteracts any social/ethnic misappropriation here. Palm trees is another conversation all together.
THe red neck suggests lots of water time with a wetsuit, so respect overall. Looks a bit like a West Coast Julian Wilson, too.
The green whistle makes you feel pretty damn good And in his case being one of the few survivors of a submarine attack would be extra euphoric. Here is to him still feeling stoked in a couple of months.
I think he did it just for “Likes”.
Ha!
A little north of Margaret River? I think even yanks will know where Yallingup is, and it’s way closer. That side of Cape Naturaliste was always famous for its Salmon runs, even though the fish aren’t actually Salmon.
A little north of Margaret River… like almost an hour (70km), even DR should know that much?
In West Oz, seventy clicks is nothing. And Margs, ’cause the world knows Margs, Yallingup not quite so much.
Lest we forget Teebs? It’s right there on the ole wiki under “Early life,” mate:
Burrow was born in Yallingup, Western Australia, Australia to American parents and began surfing at age 7.[1] At age 10, he discovered he is colourblind.[2]
Parents must have been massive hippies to give birth to him in Yallingup with no hospital.
The wiki I just looked at says he was born in Busselton, which seems way more practical.
Colourblind? So race don’t exist for Tez?
Like the Gong is Sydney, Byron Bay is the Gold coast or Torquay is Melbourne ? Santa Cruz is San Francisco for an American comparison. Bunker Bay is actually Dunsborough also not even Yallingup but Yalls would have been 20km closer if you had to just pull a name out of a hat and your reporting is going to be half arsed I guess.
Fuck shit mate, hope he is ok, you’d think that bit of carbon over the stringer may of held up a little better. How many more attacks before they get taken off endangered species list. Don’t have to do a study to understand there are a shit load around and they are eating people when they want to.
Faaark
These fat fucks just mosey around and pick off the weakest prey they can find… Humans love being told they look like a seal
A little bit of Solarez should fix that up nicely.